St. Charles library to be tuned in to ‘Jeopardy’

Staffers will gather to watch co-worker's appearance on game show

ST. CHARLES – A few months have passed since Deborah Stowell taped her appearance on the TV game show “Jeopardy!” and she said she will watch the actual broadcast Monday afternoon, in part, to merely recall the experience.

“There’s a part of me that is saying, ‘Did this really happen?’ ” Stowell said. “It will be good to see it on Monday.”

Stowell, 43, is a St. Charles resident and a staffer at the St. Charles Public Library. She said she has watched the show on and off for a few decades.

She said she was motivated to fill out the online test for the show when she considered going to graduate school.

“I thought, ‘Oh, that would be a good way to pay for grad school,’ ” she said, and so she started the process in January 2012. She received a call from the show in March 2012, and met with show officials in May 2012 in Chicago.

In March of this year, she received a call to appear on the show, and on April 15, she competed in California.

She’s not able to reveal whether it was a successful plan – contestants can’t discuss results before the show airs – but viewers can find out for themselves at 2:30 p.m. Monday, when the show will be aired on ABC-TV.

Staffers at the St. Charles Public Library will gather to watch their co-worker’s appearance.

Library officials said they will host a “Jeopardy! Viewing Party” for staff members. Stowell works as a shelver at the library.

“Jeopardy!” is known for its format of listing answers in categories, which have varying totals a contestant can win. Contestants must answer in the form of a question. However, contestants are at risk every time they buzz in because an incorrect response will lead to a deduction of points.

In an email, Pam Salomone, the library’s communications and marketing manager, wrote that staff members “are excited to watch the show, to cheer and to celebrate our co-worker’s accomplishment.”

She said they will serve popcorn, snacks and soft drinks.

“We are very excited and proud of Deborah for her accomplishments,” Salomone wrote. “It is very impressive to be selected as a contestant on ‘Jeopardy.’ ”

The library’s circulation manager, Bonnie Ellis, said in the release that library officials are “very proud of her making it to the contestant round on ‘Jeopardy.’ ”

“And we’re not surprised that she was able to do so,” Ellis added.

Stowell said she is not certain whether she will watch at the library or at a gathering with her family members. She’s excited to have the chance.

She said it’s an accomplishment even to make it on the show, and encourages anyone interested to go ahead and take the online test, which she said was “pretty painless.”